Tommy Mitchell

Tommy Mitchell was born in 1943 in Papulankutja, in Western Australia. His country is Ngaturn and Walu. He now lives in Warakurna with his family. Tommy Mitchell began to paint
with Warakurna Artists in mid 2005 and has rapidly become one of its senior emerging artists.

Tommy Mitchell's paintings depict tjukurrpa (dreaming) from his father's and mother's country. His paintings are about the stories he was told from childhood. Tommy often speaks about his experiences of travelling around tali country (sandhills) with his family: "We lived in the bush, there was no hospital and no clothes and we were naked and it was cold. I hunted marlu, rabbit, tirnka (small goanna) and pussycat, it was good meat. We also collected tjarnmarta (bush onions), maku (bardi grubs) and kampurarrpa (bush raisins)". When Tommy was small he went
for a holiday and visited his cousin Peter Lewis. Both men now live in Warakurna with their families and both paint
for Warakurna Artists.

Warakurna is a remote community situated in the Ngaanyatjarra lands on the Great Central Road, Western
Australia, near the Northern Territory border, approximately 330km from Uluru. The township of approximately
180 people is located next to the Giles meteorological weather station, and nestled amongst the spectacular
Rawlinson Ranges.